Prior art beef tenderizing techniques include the injection of an enzyme solution into the beef immediately after slaughter while the carcass is still warm. The quantity of the enzyme solution injection must be equal to a selected percentage of the weight of the meat unit. If too much enzyme solution is used, the meat may have excess moisture or may be too tender. On the other hand, if too little solution is used, the tenderization may be ineffective. Further, Federal regulations prohibit injection of more enzyme solution than a specified percent of the carcass weight.
In prior art meat tenderizing systems of the enzyme injection type, the two sides of beef forming the carcass are typically conveyed past a number of injection stations. At each injection station, there is positioned one or more operators who injects the carcass with enzyme solution. Each operator has manual control over a header carrying a number of injection needles and also coupled to a source of enzyme solution.
In order to meter the amount of enzyme solution which is injected into each side, prior art systems generally rely on volumetric metering of a charge to be injected. As a disadvantage of this prior art system, however, it has been found that it cannot be used readily in a continuous operation mode, with the individual operators of the injection needles opening at random times the valves controlling the needles to inject a desired amount of tenderizing solution, without encountering very substantial pressure variances in the system. These variances can range up to about 50 percent of the total pressure.
Because of this, when all the needles are inserted, the entire system is energized to open the valves controlling all needle headers so that all needles are opened to allow for the specific amount of fluid to be delivered into the carcass so that the system operates under similar pressure conditions for each injection procedure.
The pressure of the system is of course critical, being an important factor, along with the volume of flow dependent upon the valves communicating with the open injection needles, for determining the amount of tenderizing solution which is actually injected into the carcass at each injection site.
The above prior art tenderizing solution injection apparatus is therefore not suitable for use on a continuous moving process line, as would be most desirable for large scale operations for tenderizing carcasses of beef or the like, since all of the needles must be inserted and simultaneously opened, in order to obtain uniform pressure conditions from carcass to carcass.
The liquid delivery system of this invention overcomes the above deficiencies, and is capable of use on a moving line of carcasses in which the individual operators of injection needles do not have to depend on the other operators with respect to controlling their injection output.
It has been discovered that an effective system for injecting carcasses with tenderizing solution may be provided in which an array of needle bars would be connected to a costant flow-rate supply through hoses with injection volume, which is required to be a function of carcass weight, being varied by a timing means. Thus, energization time periods would be provided for the injection headers with the time periods being generally proportional to the carcass weight and with each side being injected by each injection header with solution that flows automatically for a calculated time period.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a system for injecting carcasses with tenderizing solution, in which injection headers are energized for calculated energization time periods to enable enzyme solution to flow automatically for the calculated time period.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a timing system which is adaptable to microprocessor technology, and permits the efficient operation of a system for injecting cacasses with tenderizing solution.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.